Proposals Are Ugly Affairs
by Jaeh
Summary: Marriage proposals... Ordinarily, they are mortifying and crazy for the proposing man. But Ben is NOT an ordinary person. But hey, it's him, what could possibly go wrong? This is my take on what would happen, and I hope you all read and enjoy!
1. Planning Stages

Disclaimer: I don't own National Treasure and all the things spoken of in here that is obviously not mine. :D

MINI SUMMARY: Ben is going to propose to Abigail. Of course, Ben and Riley plan and all, and of course they mess up... again, of course, they fix things, but something goes horribly wrong... Let's find out what happens.

A/N: Look, I know this story is about Ben, but please bear with me, I could not resist putting some Riley stuff in. Think of it as a misplaced late Christmas present… xD

BENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBY

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. Yeah, I love you too. Merry Christmas guys – yes, I have enough food to eat here dad." Riley didn't know if he should smile or groan with his family fussing over him like a kid. He hugged his Smurf pillow – his childhood toy that always made him feel better. It made him feel like he was hugging his own family.

"Okay guys, leave the big man alone." Danny came on screen, shooing everybody away. For a second the webcam's feed flickered. "He's trying to live a life."

Riley laughed. "Thanks dude."

"Anytime bro." Danny grinned. He then pulled out a small trinket, and showed it to Riley. "Swear to this that you really are doing fine, Riley. I know you – you tell mom and dad everything's fine even if it's really not."

Riley smiled, and pulled out his own version of the trinket. It was something he and his brother had made when they were kids, and it was concrete proof of how close the two were. "I swear, Danny. I am doing great. I discovered those two treasures, I have great friends…"

"Alright. Well, may His force be with you bro, and take care. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

"You too guys. Love you all… Now scoot, before this Christmas gets all mushy and wet." Riley waved, and clicked the connection off – not before hearing a chorus of good byes, I love yous and Merry Christmases and Happy New Years.

Riley sat back, staring at his now-empty desktop. He took another gulp of his eggnog, and raised his feet on the table beside his laptop. He smiled, thinking about his family, his grip on the Smurf pillow significantly tighter.

"Riley?"

Riley almost jumped up. "Whoa! Dude! Ben!"

"Sorry Riley." Ben sat beside Riley on the coach. "So… what are you doing up this late? It's three in the morning."

"I know. There was something I had to do."

"Like?" Ben prodded.

Riley drank from his mug. "I had to greet my family. I just miss them a lot, you know?" An expression of sadness flickered on Riley's face. He turned to Ben, and asked an inquiry of his own. "What are _you_ doing awake?"

"I was… thinking."

Riley groaned, and shut his laptop down. "You are always thinking, Ben… Specifics help sometimes."

"I'm going to propose." Ben mumbled, more to himself than to Riley.

"What?" Riley turned to Ben, his eyebrow raised. "This is going to be big, huh? You never say something ambiguous and muffled without it being potentially life-changing!"

"I have something to show you, Riley." Ben reached into his pocket.

"What, Ben, are you going to propose to me? Oh my gosh!"

Ben rolled his eyes. He pulled out a small black box, and flashed Riley an exquisite ring. It had an elegantly cut diamond on top, flanked by blue and red stones.

"Wow. Uh, Ben, look, I-I really can't marry you…"

"Haha, very funny Riley… Actually, it's for Abby…" Ben smiled dreamily, and closed the box. "I'm going to propose to Abigail."

Riley almost jumped up from his seat. "What?! Ben?! You're going to propose to the mean declaration lady?!"

Ben glared at Riley. "Hey, that's my future wife you're talking about."

"I am so _surprised _you're going down this road Ben. So _unpredictable_." Sarcasm flowed out from Riley's mouth. "Seriously though, you two would be great together. Stubborn, crazy, determined, history geeks… And the blonde actually has a sense of preservation in her blood – you guys balance each other, make each other crazy – perfect!"

Ben looked on curiously. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Riley said matter-of-factly.

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it is."

There was a small period of silence between the two after that, like both were digesting the huge implications of the ring on their lives.

"So how are you gonna do it?" Riley spoke up, drinking the last of his eggnog.

"What?"

"How are you gonna propose? When? Where? How?"

"You already said how."

"Just answer the question!"

Ben leaned back, and thought for a moment. "I have no idea, actually."

Riley grinned. "Well then, let me help you with that!"

Ben raised an eyebrow at Riley's enthusiasm. Riley shrugged, and started spewing out ideas. "Oh, I know!"

"What?"

"Why don't you two go out for dinner on the Eiffel tower?"

Ben looked at Riley, nodding. "Continue…"

"Then after that you two would go bungee jumping off the tower and that's when you propose!"

Ben sighed loudly, like he knew where this was going.

"Or maybe you could go sky-diving, and ditch that ring, you could give her a new one with the President's seal on it and propose to her while you are free-falling!"

"How about proposing in the Cibola… or maybe Under the Trinity church. Or in front of the Declaration of Independence. How boring can you get…" Riley yawned. "Still… it's such a nice ring. Really, Ben, I never knew you had such good taste."

"I need a place with a good history, Riley." Ben thought for a moment. "In front of the Declaration of Independence wouldn't be such a bad idea…"

Riley waved a hand, dismissing the idea as something boring. "Right, because old, dusty things turn you both on. Well, let's see. Washington Memorial... Uh, Library of Congress..." Riley counted places off in his head loudly. Suddenly he stopped, and looked at Ben. "Ben, how's this for history - Jefferson Memorial. Remember where you grabbed Abby..."

"Right... right... Riley, that's perfect!"

"I know it is. I thought of it." Riley said. "Look, we could set up a small dinner… I'd set up the lights and the sounds, maybe watch a small movie, something with some kind of history, _Pirates of the Caribbean _or whatever – "

"You do know that _Pirates of the Caribbean _is not historically correct, right?"

"What? It's not?! Noooo! Ben! It can't be!" Riley rolled his eyes. "I think I could differentiate fiction from non-fiction, Ben… Like the fact that Area 51 is conducting illegal alien experiments and is experimenting on people psychologically by spreading rumors about crop circles and UFOs."

Ben stared at him dumbly. "Are you still being sarcastic?"

"Anyway, Ben," Riley continued, ignoring Ben with a twinkle in his eye. "Maybe a documentary on the American Revolution… I don't know what turns you two on. So I'll set it up, all you have to take care of are the food, the place – you know, rent it or pull some strings – oh, and of course, the all-important rented DVD. And whatever else enters your mind."

"I'm thinking White House theme, Riley…" said Ben.** "**Or American Revolution… maybe the Library of Congress, or the Battle of Gettysburg..." Ben almost jumped up and down. He was literally buzzing with excitement. Riley shook his head. He wondered to himself how it must feel – the closest he got was telling his high school girlfriend he wanted to marry her. For some reason the girl had ran away from home just before graduation – and he never heard from her again.

Ben rattled on about the "theme" and gesturing wildly. His seat bounced on the floor loud enough to bring Riley back to the present. "Maybe the National Archives!"

"How about the American House Library Archives of Gettysburg?" Riley grinned. "I think Abby's had enough of the Archives, Ben. She works there, remember?"

"Right… Right… How about – "

" –red, white and blue, Ben, let's start with that." Riley cut him off, grinning. "Look, breathe, Ben. Leave the theme and all that stuff to me. All you have to take care of are the food, place, the DVD…"

"Yeah, I know, I know… But – "

" –how about you just think about what you're going to say to Abby after the dinner and movie, alright, Ben?"

Ben paled at what Riley said. "What… what I'm going to say?"

"Yes, Ben, what you're going to tell her. Or… _how_ you're going to tell her…"

If it was possible, Ben would have paled more. He sat down, and set a shaking hand on the chair's arm. "I… I…"

"Why don't you get some sleep… you know, to calm your nerves, clear your head before the stress gets to you again." Riley smirked. For a man who stole the Declaration of Independence and kidnapped the President with a steady calm masking his nervousness…

Ben nodded, having this empty look on his face. "What am I going to tell Abigail?" He cursed silently, and shook his head clear of the nervousness creeping up on him. He didn't succeed. "You're right. I should go to bed – you know, to clear my head… right." Ben swore again. "And you should go to bed too, Riley."

"I know Ben. But I have a proposal atmosphere to plan – and my job's certainly easier than yours."

Ben glared, and swore again. He headed upstairs.

Riley grinned. "You have a long week ahead of you, Benjamin Franklin Gates. A very, very long week." He laughed, turned to his computer, and started to work.

If he knew just how long, he certainly would not be laughing right now.

BENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBY

So… Ben's going to propose… I wonder how it will turn out… This is just an intro chappie, not much – okay, no real action yet… I'll do my best to make it totally better!

CREDIT TO LOREMIPSUM FOR THE IDEA ABOUT THE VENUE.

Review, please and thank you!

-Jaeh ^^


	2. Haywire

A/N: I know, I know – I feel horrible. I should have updated sooner, I know, I know… But. There is this horrible thing about writer's block and my muse running away and I… *sigh* Besides, I had to majorly overhaul this chappie – you have NO idea how bad the original was.

Anyway, Chapter two of Proposals are Ugly Affairs – and I hope that you would not get disappointed.

Read and Review, please! 

Disclaimer: I don't own National Treasure – if I did, Ben would have said something to Riley after telling Abigail to get his parents out of that mud hole...

BENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBEN

"What _more_ could possibly go wrong?" Ben whispered in exasperation.

Riley sighed. "It would get much, much worse just to spite us. Benjamin Franklin Gates, you're the unluckiest person alive."

The two stared blankly at the floor. Everything was going wrong – the caterers cancelled, the lights and speakers were already rented out, the quartet was fully booked (they decided to forgo the movie and went with a violin quartet) – it would take a _miracle_ to make this thing work again.

The fact that the proposal-plan was going to be put in action tomorrow made everything much, much worse.

The only thing going for them was they already have the venue and the ring.

"A minor victory in the course of events, Riley." Ben had said. Riley was inclined to agree. With all their plans going haywire – he knew they needed help.

Riley had called Jemma first – Abigail's assistant – to know what Abby's plan for tomorrow will be – and to try and keep her far, far away from them until the right time comes. It was imperative that Abigail would know _nothing_, would discover nothing, would suspect nothing.

What met him was not good news, though.

"Look, it's only for one whole day, Jemma!" Riley suppressed the urge to sigh loudly. Just a little help would be nice – just keep her at her _office_…

"Look, Riley, Abiga – Dr. Chase is very strict about keeping to her schedule. You of all people should know that."

"But it's only for a day!"

"Yes, and on that day, Dr. Chase needs to go to The Smithsonian, have a meeting with the board, check the new documents and go to the Jefferson Memorial! I can't lie to her about her schedule; she knows it by heart!"

Riley paled slightly. "Wait, what? She needs to go to the Jefferson Memorial on _the _day?" His voice shook slightly.

"Are you okay?" Jemma asked on the other side, concerned.

"Jemma, you _have_ to keep Abigail away from the Jefferson Memorial."

"If you want me to be part of this, I need to know what's going on!" Jemma's voice frowned. "Riley, tell me. What is going on?"

"Ben is going to propose to Abigail!" Riley whispered urgently. "You need to get her far, far away from the Jefferson Memorial for this to be a success, Jem!"

Jemma gasped. "Oh. My. Gosh. After all these years… 'Paul Brown' is going to _propose_?!"

"Yes! Now, you have to – "

"What are his plans!? Where would he propose? Oh gosh, what should Abby _wear…_"

"Jemma!" Riley snapped as quietly as possible. "You can't give her any clue that Ben's going to propose. Tomorrow, at the Jefferson Memorial. You have to keep her away from that place."

"But how – "

"Figure it out." Riley clicked the phone off then, and left Abigail's secretary to her own devices. He didn't like it one bit, putting the task in other people's hands – even if it was Abigail's responsible and trusted assistant. If he could he would have done something himself – but he had his own problems.

Namely the lights and sounds. He called the dude he always rents his lights from, and the following conversation took place (it was barely a conversation, actually. It was more of the guy apologizing profusely and explaining in an exasperated voice, and Riley screaming into the phone like tomorrow would be doomsday…):

"WHAT?! What do you mean you have the speakers and lights rented out for the whole week? Who cares about the orphanage?! This is a life-and-death situation I'm talking about, and you're thinking about kids?!" Pause. "Okay, I really didn't mean that. Of course you knew. But don't you guys have another spare to… uh, spare?" Pause. "Really. Uh-huh. Call you back."

He didn't even have time to curse - after that one, another call came. It was Ben, ranting and whining – if Riley didn't know better he would even say Ben was on the verge of crying.

"The quartet was fully booked. The caterers cancelled on us."

"…what?" That was all Riley had to say.

"They cancelled on me – Ben Gates, Riley." Ben whispered into the phone, seething. "They cancelled on the Ben Gates. And the quartet didn't even make an exception – I begged and pleaded. I _begged and pleaded_."

"Ben, calm down…" Riley said, wincing. He didn't like it when Ben starts whispering like that – it showed that he was on the verge of blowing up like Old Faithful when all the conditions were right…

"Calm down Riley? CALM DOWN?! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN – "

"Stop acting like a kid, and come on home." Riley scolded. It felt weird, he decided, to say that to Ben.

He attributed the childish tantrum to Ben's being nervous and jittery.

And now they were sitting in one room, staring dumbly at the floor, at loss for things to do.

They needed help. Fast.

Aly had called – saying her womanly intuition was telling her that something was up – and promised to help. Patrick and Emily were also called, and Emily immediately said they were coming over.

The whole cavalry was coming.

Maybe there was hope, after all…

The doorbell rang after thirty minutes. Emily and Patrick entered the house, already in a middle of an argument about the proposal even before Ben told them what he already had planned.

"I think that a single, diamond stone would look boring and cliché!"

"It's a classic – Abigail would like it. I'm sure."

"I already _have_ a ring…" Ben provided _unhelpfully_; the two didn't stop their arguing – they didn't even seem to hear.

"The single would look good on her fingers…"

"But a more innovative ring design would suit her better…"

Riley huffed in annoyance. They _definitely_ didn't need this… "Stop that. Ben already has a ring – we need help with other things." _That_ quieted them down.

Honestly though – did they think Ben is that irresponsible not to get a ring first and foremost?

The bell rang again – saving them the few moments of silence that always came when you got people to shut up – and Aly dashed inside, carrying a small white board and a marker. "Sorry I'm late, people." She announced, like she was a head of the decorating committee at a huge party. She placed her board in the center of the coffee table, and everybody flocked to her.

"Now. We have less than twenty four hours – eighteen, to be exact – to make this proposal the best that we possibly could set up." Aly wrote it down in one corner. "Now, we need new ideas – but first, let's hear from Ben, who planned this whole ordeal and dragged us in with him because he's desperate."

Ben opened his mouth to argue, but thought otherwise. Instead, he took a small, black box from his pocket and flashed everyone the ring. "See, I told you I already had a ring."

"It's beautiful…"

"Exquisite cut…"

"Wow…"

Ben closed the box and hid it in his pocket. "Now – our venue is going to be the Jefferson Memorial – it holds… memories. We are going to hold it in one of the lush gardens nearby. Riley is the head of my committee – he's in charge of… Now that I've thought of it, he is _in charge_ of everything. But now that you're all here…"

Riley cut Ben off in the middle – the guy needs to keep his head straight and breathe and relax.

Take over, Riley Poole. Ben Gates needs to work out some personal issues.

_Heck_, Ben is so _nervous_…

"Alright. Here's our game plan. Patrick, Emily – you are in charge with the decorations. Please, try not to fight… I'm giving you free reigns on this one, seeing that my artistic talent seems to be at loss for this event." Everyone snickered, and Aly murmured something about a disastrous birthday party. Riley continued. "Aly, maybe you could look for a quartet or something – we need to have something set the mood nicely. You can do that, can you love?"

"I'll hire a mariachi band, then." Aly stated, her eyes shining. She shrugged when Riley threw her a glare of sorts. "I'll take care of it."

Riley looked at his list. "I'll take care of the lights, and the sound system – one way or another I am going to _get_ everything – and… other things. I'd think of something."

"And me?" Ben asked innocently, fiddling with the black box nervously.

"You, up to your room and think of what you're going to say." Riley shooed him away, and Ben climbed up the stairs in a daze when he realized he _actually_ didn't know what he was going to say.

That was new – Ben didn't know what to say!

Riley shook his head, and commented. "It's a good thing Abigail is not here to see he is."

Everyone murmured their agreements, and grabbed their cell phones to place _a lot_ of calls.

They had work to do.

RILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEY

Review? Please? Free smoothies for reviewers!

-Jaeh ;)


	3. Miracles and Curses

Disclaimer: I own nothing – not even a copy of Riley's book. *sighs*

A/N: Sorry for taking so long! Here goes another chapter with an evil cliffie! Bwahahahaha!

RILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEY

It was a Christmas miracle – even if it was a few days after Christmas. _This one definitely counts_, Riley thought, as he checked every item off his checklist. The lights: check. The sound system (just in case something goes wrong with that band Aly hired): check. The wires and other bits-and-pieces necessary to run this freak – romantic – show: check.

Now it was time to set everything up. Only eighteen hours before the most important moment in Ben's life and everything was _miraculously_ all set. If Riley did not ask for anybody's help, he was certain that everything would have fallen all around him like an old building being taken down for renovation. He sighed gratefully, and called his "team" to report on their current status.

Emily and Patrick seemed to agree with each other _for once_, and set up a nice-looking gazebo straight from George Washington's estate at Mt. Vernon. It was decorated with roses, lots and lots of roses, and adorned with red, white and blue streamers and ribbons without looking like someone's campaigning for presidency.

In other words: it was _perfect_.

Riley smiled; he looked at the list, and checkedoff the décor.

Aly called to tell him the quartet was taken care of. It turned out that someone moved a certain booking to another date, and the quartet agreed on the last minute performance.

Riley thought he heard something suspicious in Aly's voice. For a fleeting moment he wanted to ask how she managed all this, but thought otherwise – he knew some things were better left unknown.

What was done was done anyway – the important thing was that they have a quartet.

He crossed it off his list with a huge victorious grin – and then noticed something. The caterer: he forgot the caterer!

And Ben was expecting a nice romantic dinner.

Riley shut his eyes, muttered a _nasty_ curse under his breath, and tried to calm himself down.

It was too late to call someone – even if he bribed every caterer in town, no one would accept a rush order like this.

Maybe they would not object to Chinese take outs...

Riley's eyes brightened. A _very expensive_ take-out. He remembered a good little gourmet restaurant he and Aly frequented… _Yeah, yeah! That would work…_

He would just wear a maitre d' outfit to serve the two and not mess it up – no, that would be horrible. Riley knew he would just mess up – and no matter how funny and how interesting that would look, he'd rather not mess this up for his best friend. Maybe he could get someone from the same restaurant to serve them… That sounded like a better idea.

He called the restaurant, and explained his _small_ situation. The owner just laughed, and said they would be happy to held one of their most frequent customers.

And so the Christmas miracle went…

Speaking of miracles, and his best friend – where was Ben? It had been a few hours since he last saw him. It had been a _miracle_ too, that he wasn't down here in the study, where most of the action was happening…

* * *

Riley knocked on the door. Ben was sound asleep, face down in his pillow, a hand over a piece of paper. There were scribbles on it – and Riley pulled it from under Ben's palm. He tried to decipher what the guy wrote, but failed utterly when the only thing he read was the word 'please'. He figured it was the proposal speech – but _please_, Ben's saying 'please'? In his proposal to Abigail? What was he going to do? Beg for her hand in marriage?

Not that it sounded like a bad idea.

Before Riley could even let his mind come up with a dozen sarcastic comments – he shook Ben awake.

Ben shot up. "Is it time? Am I late?!" He started blabbering, and darted to the bathroom.

"Wait! Ben!" Riley yelled.

Ben stopped. "What?"

"It's not yet time – calm down." Riley said, gesturing for Ben to sit beside him. Ben sat, and breathed in and out slowly. "Okay, you said we're going to _practice_, remember?" Ben nodded. Riley continued. "Okay, so after the dance, you kneel in front of her, right?"

Ben nodded, and kneeled before Riley. Riley shrugged, and said in his best 'girl' voice: "Oh, Ben, whatever are you doing?"

Ben rolled his eyes – for the moment, he was back to his old self – "Abigail does _not_ sound like that, Riley."

Riley just laughed. "Give me a break – I'm heading your planning committee and will be listening to how you propose to Abigail."

Ben blinked, and the old, confident Ben started to fade away again – the nervous, sparkling new Ben appeared. "So… um. Ah… here goes."

"Abby… I…. ever since I first laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one. I fell in love with you just like that – I knew at once that you would forever be mine. Even though we went through tough times – even breaking it off at some point, almost giving up on the feelings we knew would never go away – and even though I know I'm a very difficult man to be with… I still adore you with all of my heart. You know that I would do anything for you! I would catch a falling star – I would follow you to the ends of the earth, I would swim to the bottom of the ocean, just to be with you forever!

So please, Abigail Chase – will you marry me?"

Riley blinked at Ben. "That… wow." He was speechless. He _honestly_ did not know what to say. "Ben, I think we might have to change some of your words…"

Ben stared at Riley. "Is it that bad?"

"I won't say it's bad – it just needs a little editing." Riley grinned. "Yeah, a little editing. Here, why don't you try saying this…" Riley wrote some words down on a piece of paper, and Ben looked at it.

Ben grinned embarrassingly. "Yes… yes, alright – this is much, much better."

Riley nodded. "I know it is. Better get ready and practice that, Mr. Gates, your hour is close." He grinned, and stepped out of the room.

He sighed once he got out, and ran a hand through his hair.

_Seriously, Ben, do I have to do everything myself?_

He thought it once, and he thought it again.

Heck,_ Ben is so _nervous…

And so here was Riley again, saving the day.

* * *

At one point, Jemma considered just tying up Abigail in her office chair.

"Isn't the meeting very important? Why wasn't I personally told that it was cancelled?"

Jemma sighed. "I already told you. They didn't have time to call each person involved because of technical difficulties…"

But Abigail could not be fazed. "I'm calling them… There must be a better explanation for this.

Jemma sighed again. _Riley, if you don't arrive and fetch her, I won't be able to stop her from going…_

She mentally reconsidered tying Abby up again. Jemma thought about the rope and the duct tape she threw in her car this morning just to be sure, and was about to make the move to grab the car keys when Riley burst in the room, carrying a blindfold.

"Finally!" Jemma uttered under her breath. "What took you so long?"

"Uh, technical difficulties. I'm here now…" Riley said, and rushed into the office where Abby was in the midst of dialing the number to the Jefferson Memorial. Riley caught her by surprise, slipping the blindfold on top of her eyes and taking her by the arm.

"Riley – Riley what are you doing?!" Abby protested, pulling on her arm.

Riley maintained a firm hold on Abby's arm. "Look, Abby, trust me. When we get to the car, keep your head low and don't look out – we don't want to raise suspicion. Here's a phone call for you, by the way." Riley pulled out his phone, and placed it beside Abby's ear.

"Hello, Abigail?" Ben answered on the other side of the conversation.

"Ben! Ben – what's going on – what's Riley doing…?" Abby screamed into the phone.

"Look, Abby – I know you're really confused right now, but trust me, okay? You're going to like this surprise… At least, I hope you do…" Pause. "Oh… darn. Can you please give the phone to Riley for a second?"

"Riley…" Abby said. "It's for you…"

Riley took back the phone. "Yeah?"

"Uh – bring Abby to the site, will you? I think I forgot the ring back home…"

"You forgot the – BEN! It's the most important thing in this scheme of yours!" Riley almost screamed.

"That's why I'm going to get it! See you in a few minutes."

Riley sighed. "Alright – be quick." He didn't need to remind his best friend that he could _not_ be late for the most important day of his life.

"I will."

* * *

Ben had drove straight to the house, muttering curses in different languages under his breath. _Of all the things I have to forget…_ He found it in the pocket of one of his coats – the bright yellow one that Abby hated so much (he knew she would never touch the thing) – and headed straight back.

At least, he tried to.

He saw a man begging at the side of the road, shivering. He glanced at the yellow coat beside him – he just took the whole thing in a hurry – and decided he could part with it today. Ben grabbed the small, black box and slipped it into his coat pocket. Ben parked, and ran to the man. He smiled at him, and handed the coat.

"Merry Christmas!" He greeted warmly. "I hope you have a good one – even in this weather."

"Thank you kind sir – I'm sure I would." The man appeared to grin evilly at him.

Ben raised an eyebrow. He just shrugged it off, and was about to leave when he felt something hit the back of his head.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the pavement rush towards him, and thinking: "I'm late – Abigail is going to kill me."

And then everything blacked out.

BENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBEN

YAY CLIFFIE!

Please review! ^^

-Jaeh xD


	4. Mugged

*GASP* I UPDATED! Sorry for taking so long guys! Well, here you go…. xD

Disclaimer: And so the list of what I own goes, but National Treasure is not on the list. Neither is Riley, even if I wrote a Manual on how to... er, operate him. (btw, if you're interested, check that out! xD)

Also, I forgot to add, there is A LOT of swearing in here. Sorry for forgetting - now you're warned. .

BENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBEN

_He lowered her into a small dip as they danced, making Abby laugh. Ben pulled Abby up gently and gave her a long, passionate kiss._

_The quartet softened their playing on cue. Ben surreptitiously spoke into his hidden microphone._

"_This is it, Riley."_

_Ben heard a small chuckle in his ear. "Okay Ben, don't be a worry walnut – I'm sending in the wine." Pause. "Oh and Ben?"_

"_Yes, Riley?"_

"_Don't stutter."_

"_Thanks." Ben replied flatly, and watched the waiter approach them with glasses of champagne._

"_Champagne, love?"_

_Abigail giggled. "What's the occasion?"_

"_Oh, nothing." Ben handed her a glass. "Just something nice to mark the end of this wonderful evening."_

"_I've noticed the amount of alcohol we've been consuming tonight, Benjamin Franklin Gates." Abigail smiled seductively. "Are there anymore surprises heading my way?" She purred, tracing Ben's bicep with a finger. _

_Ben smiled at her, determined not to give anything away _yet_. "Maybe." He sipped from his glass, and slipped a hand into his coat pocket. Ben felt the box in his hand, and suddenly his heart started beating faster. _I hope I get you drunk enough to answer how you're supposed to answer. _He gulped. _And I hope I'm drunk enough to say what I'm supposed to say.

_He got on one knee, and held the box casually in his hand. It suddenly felt so _heavy_…_

"_Abigail, I know that I don't deserve someone like you in my life." Ben started. He was almost afraid to see Abby's reaction, but he looked up anyway._

_Abby's face was twisted into an expression Ben has never seen before._

"_And I know I'm not the easiest person to be with. I know that – All I know is that I love you, Abigail. And I want to be with you forever – whatever happens, even if the world ends tomorrow, I don't care. All I want is you._

_So… Abigail Chase, will you marry me?"_

_Abby blinked at Ben, her expression still unreadable. "I…I don't know what to say, Ben."_

"_Please say yes." Ben grinned. "_Assuming _you _want_ to marry me." _

_Abby smirked. "There you go again Ben, assuming too much. And so, I say – "_

Everything suddenly went out of focus, and Ben opened his eyes. "Abigail?" He murmured. Ben blinked, and surveyed his surroundings.

There were three pairs of shoes shuffling in front of him. And asphalt… and was that graffiti on the wall in front of him? Where in the world _was_ he…?

A sharp, exploding pain at his side jolted him wholly back to reality.

Everything _hurt_. Ben tried to look up, when the sharp pain at his side suddenly intensified...

"Don't move, dammit!" Someone cursed above him. He felt a strong kick by his other side – left or right, he couldn't say anymore. _At least it balanced the pain…_

Someone jerked him out of his coat.

Ben opened his mouth to protest, remembering the coat was something Abigail gave to him on one of her annual shopping sprees, but only a moan made its way out.

"Check his back pocket."

Someone felt his pants – making Ben wince a bit. "Found his wallet."

"We hit the jackpot, boys!"

Ben heard a whoop of joy, and the unmistakable sound of money being passed around. "Five hundred dollars!" There was a general period of swearing, and the next thing Ben remember was someone taking his shoes and tie off. Next to go was his jacket.

Ben protested again – the jacket was a gift from Riley this time. "Give it back…" He managed, and tried to turn on one side.

He received a heavy stomp on his lower back for that one. Ben tried again. "At least just the – "

"Ring! Looks expensive – oh shit, I think its real!" Another general period of swearing. "The rocks are real! Damn, who is this guy? Check his license."

"B…Be… Ben… How do you read this – "

"Oh give me that!" A low whistle. "Benjamin Franklin Gates."

"Isn't that the treasure hunter?"

"Of course he is, you idiot!"

There was yet another general period of swearing. Ben started crawling closer to the wall, and tried to prop himself up. He lifted himself to a sitting position.

He found a small handhold – a dumpster he just noticed nearby, and he pulled himself up and leaned against it. "Even just the ring – give it back." He managed, staring – _glaring_, even, at the crooks who had the _audacity_ to beat up people in a generally busy street. "I'm proposing to someone today, and I am not going to let you ruin it."

"Oh look, the great treasure hunter is going to go against us." The 'beggar' sneered at him. A man with a mop of brown, unruly hair laughed, and produced a small pocket knife from who-knows-where. Another man, someone who was now wearing his yellow coat, snickered, and raised a baseball bat in his arms. "Where's the money, Gates? We know you have more."

Ben laughed, shaking his head. The movement made him dizzier, but he couldn't help it. "You really think I'd bring more than five hundred dollars in my pocket?"

Knife-wielding guy scoffed. "How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?"

"Where's my ring?" Ben snarled, and let go of dumpster. Adrenaline started pumping through his body, and Ben's hands shook.

"I ate it." Yellow-coat guy mocked.

Ben suddenly had a great hatred for the color yellow. "Go to hell." He launched himself at Knife-wielding guy, knocking the blade away with a small twist of the guy's hand. Ben kneed him in the stomach and brought his elbow down on his collarbone.

The guy's collarbone shattered, and he screamed, falling to the ground. Ben silently wondered why in the world nobody heard that, but threw the thought away. He quickly patted the guy up and down, looking for the familiar shape of his box. "Where the hell is my ring?!" He growled into the guy's face, momentarily forgetting the two other thugs behind him.

A grave mistake. Something hit the back of his head, and he blacked out.

The next thing he felt was someone elbowing and kicking him in the stomach. Ben felt like everything was on fire. He blinked away the black and white dots swirling before his eyes. "'The hell did you do! You broke his damned shoulder!"Yellow-coat screamed.

Ben coughed, and spewed out blood. "Where is the – "

"To hell with you and your damn ring!" Yellow-coat kicked him just a few centimeters above his stomach, and Ben thought he heard a small crack. _I think I just broke a rib…_

Beggar brought up the small pocket knife Knife-wielding guy held earlier to Ben's face. "Where's the other money?"

Ben spat in the thug's face. "The bank. Where the heck do you think I keep it? My socks?"

Beggar pulled Ben's socks off, and ripped off Ben's shirt – still looking for money that wasn't there. "Have fun in the cold, Mr. Gates." He sneered, and knocked Ben's head against the wall. "Let's get out of here." He yelled at the two others, and threw away the discarded clothes on the street.

Ben moaned, and closed his eyes.

_If I don't die from this, Abigail is going to kill me._

BENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBEN

Italics was the way it was supposed to happen. But then this…? Poor Ben. xD

So? SOOOO? R&R please! xD


	5. Lost

Yes, I updated again in less than two weeks. You know how? The magic of summer vacation! YAYZ!

Thanks to my beta **loremipsum **for popping up when I needed her to beta – -pokes beta, grinning- your timing was impeccable, lol.

For you guys wondering where Riley was (that means you, Golden-Heart, haha) here he is xD

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own National Treasure. If I own NT, I would release Riley's book to the public and produce Riley plushies to sell to everyone. xD

Oh, and swear alerts… everyone's just getting so frustrated, that some words slip out of their mouths, ya know?...

RILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEY

"Riley where are we going?" Abigail demanded. Her head and blindfold were covered with a huge floppy hat and sunglasses. "Where are you taking me? What scheme of Ben's were you talking about earlier?! I swear, if this is another one of your pranks…" She reached up to pull the hat and glasses off to get to her blindfold, but Riley held her hand down firmly.

Riley sighed and rolled his eyes. He glanced at the bag in the backseat, actually considering gagging Abigail's mouth with the duct tape he grabbed earlier when he saw the Jefferson Memorial in the corner of his eye.

"Finally." He muttered, and parked his car close to the venue. Riley took Abigail by both hands. "Abigail, please don't scream to attract attention." He half-whispered, half-begged. "If this does not work out, Ben is going to kill me…"

"Then tell me what's happening this instant!"

"I can't!" Riley led her to the stairs of the gazebo and sitting with her there. There he sighed, and looked to the sky, noticing it was fast becoming dark. He turned on the lights with his remote control.

Everything was ready, but the most crucial element of the proposal plan was missing.

The man and his ring.

* * *

Ben shivered in the cold, and rubbed his hands together. It was so _cold_…

He fumbled around for anything he could cover himself with, a newspaper or something, and found absolutely nothing. _You'd think this would be the sort of alley people would just dump things in… _Ben looked up to the sky, and noticed how _dark_ it was fast becoming.

Time was running out.

Ben wracked his head for information on hypothermia. The last he heard, he had 15 minutes to 12 hours before hypothermia would set in, but that depended on how cold the external temperature was.

And it was already _snowing._

He knew he didn't have much time.

_Heat_. His mind yelled. _Get to somewhere warm… anywhere!_ He vaguely remembered that stores were closed today because of the holidays (in this street, anyway), and the nearest house was two corners away.

Ben was certain he didn't have strength to crawl that far in less than 15 minutes.

Then he remembered the car. And the heater installed in it. And his _cell phone._

He left the engine running and his phone on the passenger's seat for he thought he wouldn't take long in giving a beggar that hideously yellow coat Abigail hated.

Oh was he wrong.

Ben muttered a curse under his breath and started crawling towards where he left the car**.** He hoped that the thugs who attacked him didn't drive off with his car too.

_Left, Right, Left… okay Ben, we're making great time_. He knew moving would get the circulation going. _But everything just _damn_ hurts_. Ben groaned with the effort.

_Left, Right, Left_… He couldn't feel his toes anymore. _I guess I could part with some of those toes… maybe the smallest ones…_ He shook his head. _No need to get _that_ gruesome, Ben…_ His sides hurt with each movement. He wanted to hurl – everything was spinning.

His chest felt like it was going to explode – something was causing sharp pain somewhere in there, making each dragging motion Ben made feel like he was pulling himself through a bed of coals – _and to think it's probably below 30 degrees_…

His back was on fire, and his stomach felt like mush.

He felt like he just got beaten up.

Which he was, but through the haze that he once called his mind he didn't know what really happened anymore. He could have been plowed through by a train or bumped by a bus for all he cared. All he knew was he had to survive, get to somewhere warm, call Riley and appease Abigail.

Abigail was probably steaming right now, waiting for Ben to show up at his own party that he set up.

He wanted to sleep and not move, even though he knew it would be fatal. _But everything hurts, and I'm so damn tired_.

But Abigail… He urged himself to crawl faster.

Abby was waiting for him, and that was all Ben needed to remember to get himself out of the freezing hell-of-a-predicament he was in.

* * *

Abigail listened to Riley's pacing – _paf-paf-paf –_ on the ground. She had already determined they were in some grassy, open area, but she couldn't place where exactly. She sat there, leaning against a post lazily, blindfold still on. She had finally grew tired of complaining and asking for Ben, but even in her bored and blindfolded state she could sense that something is wrong.

Riley _was_ pacing back and forth in front of her, after all.

Earlier, she had been asking about who they were waiting for.

"Ben." Riley would always answer, and not say anything else.

Abby was growing tired of it. Tired of Riley's pacing, tired of her blindfold, tired of sitting, tired of being kidnapped, tired of _waiting_…

"That's it!" Riley suddenly exclaimed, making Abby jump a bit in her idled position. She looked in the general direction of where she thought Riley's voice was coming from, and felt a tug on her arm. "Come on, Abs, I'm dropping you off at your office." Abby was about to make a statement and opened her mouth, but Riley still cut her off. "You're to be detained there until further notice. Jemma has orders not to let you go until Ben or I call." She was pushed into a car, and was once again adorned with the stupid floppy hat and the stupid sunglasses – and she was well aware it was way past sunset, and it was pointless to wear anything involved with the sun.

She would've removed it if her hands weren't held down by Riley's. It was a miracle he could even drive properly…

Abigail sighed. She glanced to her left, knowing that's where Riley was, and asked him quietly what's wrong. She could hear him press something on his phone, muttering "pick up pick up pick up", then a restrained curse.

She imagined Riley turning to her, and Abby heard him sigh. "I… don't know if I could tell you. Let's wait until we get to the office."

"Just keep your eyes on the road." Abby muttered.

She thought she heard something along the lines of "nag… blindfolded", but decided to let it go.

Right now Abby just wanted to know what's wrong.

* * *

Riley had called Ben – _oh, say about 32 times already_. He had given up, deciding that Ben was not going to answer his phone any sooner.

_Maybe he lost the ring… Oh heck, he can't lose the ring, he's the most organized person I know! _He glanced at Abigail, who appeared to be behaving for a change. _Okay, maybe he's not…_

He shook his head, and recapped the plan in his head. _So, I bring Abby, Ben arrives, we go through the romantic stuff, he proposes, they head off to some nearby hotel and they get married in a few months._

_But where in the whole wide world is Ben?!_

Riley resisted the urge to hit his head on the steering wheel. He tried Ben again on his cell… Still no answer.

He called Jemma before he got in the car, telling her that he needed to leave Abigail with her for a few minutes as he went to find Ben.

"Maybe he got cold feet or something…" Jemma had remarked off-handedly.

Riley had snapped back: "This is one of the most important happenings in Ben's life – he would not miss it for the world."

Jemma had apologized after that, and Riley could not believe he just snapped back at someone that he didn't know that well.

He groaned. Riley very well knew that something was wrong with Ben, and he had the nagging feeling that he had to find Ben quickly. He parked in front of the National Archives.

He grabbed Abby's hat and sunglasses and slipped the blindfold off. "Here we are." He took Abby's arm and started pulling her towards the building.

She refused to budge.

"Riley, I need to know what's going on." Abby insisted, not moving either of her feet. "I'm not moving from this spot until you tell me where Ben is, and what's happening."

Riley let out a sigh. _Well, your boyfriend is going to propose to you today, and whoopty-doo, he's missing. Any questions?_ "I honestly don't know where Ben is."

"Then what's wrong?" Abby sighed impatiently. "You kept me from an important meeting for this? Riley!"

"I can't tell you, alright!" _She hasn't figured it out yet? Wow. It's either Abs has lost her touch or she's too stressed out to think…_ Riley sighed again. "I have to go find Ben."

"And I'm coming with you." She said, reaching for the door.

Riley pulled on her arm again. "No. We're going to your office."

"Riley! Let me go. I am not a kid and I refuse to be treated like this!" Abigail protested. "Besides, I _know_ something's wrong and I want to know what it is! I'm going with you to find Ben whether you like it or not!"

Riley sighed. "Fine, get in." He whipped out his phone and sent Jemma a text message that they're not dropping by. He got in, and gripped the wheel tightly for a moment. _Ben, where the hell are you?_

* * *

_Almost there…_ Ben told himself. He could see the door of the car, he only had a few yards left…

He tried to raise his hand, but he couldn't. He stared at the offending appendage for a moment, and _willed _it to move.

It didn't.

Ben cursed loudly. He didn't care who would hear – all he wanted to do was to get to somewhere _warm_. "Help!" He yelled, trying to get the attention of anyone who might be outside on this usually-busy street.

"HELP!"

No one.

_Well, Ben my boy, there is no sense in wasting your energy by yelling to nobody, eh?_

Ben whipped his head to one side. "Grandpa?" He shivered. _Did I just hear my dead grandfather's voice? It's like a scene from a movie…_

He reached a hand out, wanting to grab the handle of the door.

He didn't even know if he had the strength to even _pull_ the handle open.

Ben groaned. "Help!" He tried again.

_Ben, just a few more steps…_

Now he was hearing his father. _This is getting ridiculous_. He was shivering violently now, and all he could think about was heat, and marshmallows roasting over the fire, and Riley handing the graham crackers over for smores. And Abigail reaching for the chocolate syrup.

Abigail. He could only think of Abigail.

_Abigail, believe me, I didn't want to leave you waiting, honey. I'm sorry…_

* * *

Riley arrived at the Gates' mansion, and took one look in the gate and did not see Ben's car. _Maybe we just missed each other…_ He thought, and prepared to drive away.

"What are you doing? Aren't we going to check inside?" Abby asked.

"He's not there. He'd be bringing his car." _He'd be faster than the speed of light, Abigail. This is his most important day and he sure as heck wouldn't miss this. _"Maybe we missed him."

He made a u-turn and headed back to the Memorial – he didn't care if Abby even saw where they were going.

Riley was only concerned about Ben.

He drove as fast as he could back to the venue, his eyes darting around looking for Ben's car. He spotted Ben's car, its engine running by the sidewalk.

But there was no Ben inside.

Riley blinked. _All the stores were closed – Ben could not have gone inside any of them. Then where…?_ A flash of blue caught his eye, and he lowered down his window to check it out.

Abigail, apparently, saw it too. "Riley, doesn't that look like the sock you gave Ben for Christmas?"

Riley's eyes widened with panic. "It _is_ the sock I gave Ben for Christmas." _What in the world…_

He parked the car as fast as he can without hitting anything. "Abigail, stay here."

RILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEY

Would they find Ben in time?! Oh NOES! *gasp* R&R pleaaase!

And a hug from Riley if anyone spots the Star Wars reference? *giggle*

-Jaeh xD


	6. I: Found

Okay, I'm really really really sorry. Its been a long… erm, summer, and in between writer's block and my laptop's monitor being fried…

But hey, I've updated, so please don't throw tomatoes at me. *shields self anyway*

Disclaimer: I own Riley Poole and company. In my dreams. *huge grin*

BENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBENBEN

"What do you mean stay here?" Abby protested, taking Riley's arm as he stepped out of the car. "Riley, you are not going to look for Ben alone." Abigail's eyes followed him, glaring daggers**.** _What is this? Riley if this is another one of yours and Ben's pranks…_

Of course, she knew it wasn't. Riley was acting too jittery and too worried for this to be just a prank. Riley could hide his anxieties _well_, but Abigail knew him long enough to figure out that something was bothering him.

She hated being kept in the dark.

Riley gently removed Abby's hand. "Look, Abigail, if Ben is in trouble it might not be safe."

"You think Ben's in trouble?" Abigail's voice raised an octave, her nerves starting to show. "Riley, what's going on?"

_Gosh_, she was _so_ worried. Riley's projected calm didn't help either; it just showed that he – they, Ben and Riley, were hiding something from her.

She was confused, and Abigail didn't like it one bit.

Riley shook his head, and moved to get out of the car again. Abby stared after him, and repeated her inquiry. "What's going on, Riley? Answer me!" Somehow, she felt like she knew what Riley was going to say.

Riley looked at her gravely. He peered through the window, and shook his head again. "I don't know."

Abigail sighed. _Well I'm not going to wait here for something to happen. I have to do something._ She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

* * *

Riley jogged to the sock, and picked it up. _Ben, what in the world happened?_ Riley's eyes darted left and right, looking for any other sign of Ben, and spotted another sock. And his shirt. A few meters – further into the dark alley – a small metal thing glinted in the streetlight. He made his way to the next sock, squatted beside it and stared at it for a moment. Riley turned his attention to the dark alley in front of him.

_Should've grabbed a flashlight._ "What…" A woman's voice – Abigail's, Riley's brain corrected numbly – trailed off behind him. _Stubborn… I thought I told her to stay in the car!_

"I distinctly remember telling you to stay in the car…" Riley moved closer to Abby, his body unconsciously taking a protective position in front of her.

"I think I could handle myself, Riley." Abigail answered softly, all traces of irritation gone. Riley heard a subtle shake in her voice. _She's just as nervous as I am – maybe even more._ "Riley, can you tell me what's going on? What are all these clothes doing here?"

"I don't know." Riley really _didn't know_. What else was he supposed to tell Abigail? "Socks… shirt… and are those his suspenders?" Riley shook his head and gave a nervous laugh. "If I spot his pants, I think I'm going to be scarred for life."

"Riley." Abigail placed a hand on Riley's shoulder. He could feel Abigail's hand tremble a little.

Riley turned to look at her. "Riley… if… if these are all Ben's clothes…"

It clicked. _Oh hell no…_ "Then he's not wearing anything. And it's freezing."

"It's snowing." Abigail provided.

"That doesn't help." Riley muttered under his breath. He inhaled deeply. _Nothing good will happen if I panic. Breathe._ "Abigail, I think I have a bunch of blankets in the back of my car, could you please get it for me?" He handed over his keys, and noticed his hand tremble a little. _Well, at least we know where my panic went._

"I am not going anywhere, Riley."

"If he doesn't have any clothes, Abby, he'll need them." _Besides, I don't want you heading in that dark alley alone. And I know you would. _Riley heard Abby huff with annoyance behind him, and the shuffling of her coat as she left.

He grabbed the next item – Ben's shirt. Riley examined it for a moment: some buttons were missing, a few of the stitches seem to be ripped... It was like something – or _someone_ – ripped it off Ben. _Ben, what happened here?_

Abigail tapped him on the shoulder, and Riley stood up. She handed him a couple of blankets. "What are these doing in your car?" Abby's eyebrow was raised suspiciously.

"Uh, mom shipped them to me; forgot to pull them out of my car." Riley offered lamely and grinned sheepishly, momentarily forgetting Ben.

"I also grabbed this flashlight from your trunk. I won't even ask." Abigail sighed, and turned it on. Riley took the flashlight from Abigail, who handed it without protest. They both headed into the dark alleyway, Riley holding on Abigail's wrist and leading the way.

_I hope we find Ben soon…_

* * *

Ben groaned, blinking. He thought he heard the roar of a car engine earlier, and that brought him out of the stupor he was in.

"Abigail? Riley?" He murmured, and shifted in his position.

A sharp pain erupted from his stomach, spreading to his back and ending by his shoulder. He screamed, but nothing but a small squeak came out. _Oh hell… what happened?_ He racked his brain for information, trying to remember what was going on.

It hurt even to think.

He glanced around, wincing with each movement. Ben thought he saw something _move_ in the distance, and thought he heard hushed voices speak. Ben tried to zone in on where everything was coming from, but he was so dizzy, everything was out of focus… And there was this dull, annoying buzzing in his left ear that was driving him _crazy_…

"These _are_ his suspenders."

_What? Where… who…_

Ben blinked. Someone was looking for him.

"We have to find him. He'll die without any source of heat…"

"You think he just ripped his clothes off?"

_Was that Riley?_ "Riley!" His voice croaked. Ben knew they couldn't hear couldn't _hear _him no matter how much he screamed – because he couldn't scream.

"We're not going to find him here, Riley."

"Frozen to death. That's where we started, and that's where he'll end. Talk about the irony…"

Hushed whispers. Ben finally singled out the shadowy figures in the distance, and they were heading off back into the street.

_No. _"Riley! Abigail!" Ben screamed, at least _tried_ to scream. He ended up squeaking out the names. He wanted to hit something, _anything_ to get his should-be rescuers' attention. But adrenaline would only let him whisper out names and follow shadows with his eyes. Ben was even _amazed _that he could open his eyes.

But he was not giving up. _Dammit, Ben Gates! You found two treasures in your lifetime and survived one-too-many near-death experiences! You are _not_ going to die like this!_

Ben tried screaming again.

This time nothing came out.

He watched the shadows vanish slowly into the distance. Ben groaned. _No no no no no!_ "Riley! Abigail! I'm here!"

A croak came out. Nothing more.

Ben thought he could just see his grandfather's outline in front of him. _Well, Ben, this is it. __This is your last chance. Don't give up now. _He heard his grandfather say. Ben groaned.

Maybe that was all the shadowy figures were. Hallucinations. Like his grandpa in front of him. "They won't find me, grandpa. They won't." He whispered. His eyes started to droop.

_Ben, Ben listen to me. Don't give up. Why don't you tell me something about your expeditions to wake you up? Ben?_

Ben exhaled, and started talking, relating to the figure in front of him what happened in his life. _So this is how it ends_… He thought vaguely. _Freezing to death, talking to a ghost._

He had completely lost sight of the shadowy figures now.

Ben sighed wearily. _I didn't even get to say goodbye to Abigail._

_**To be continued…**_


	7. II: Found

…_**.continued.**_

"Frozen to death. That's where we started, and that's where he'll end. Talk about the irony…"

"Riley, don't talk like that!" Abigail's voice dropped to a whisper.

Riley glanced at her, eyes heavy with worry and concern. He looked away, and sighed. "I… I just want to find him, Abby." He started walking towards Ben's car.

"What are you doing? We haven't searched the whole alley yet!" Abigail ran after him and reached for Riley's arm. "Riley!"

"I want to check out Ben's car." Riley answered quietly. His eyes flashed defiantly. _Did you really believe I'd give up like that?_ His stare made Abigail flinch, and she withdrew.

Tempers were flaring – Riley blamed it on their frustration. They still haven't found Ben, and he could not shake the feeling they were running out of time.

Riley adjusted his scarf, and peered into the car's window. His breath fogged up the view, and he quickly wiped it with his sleeve.

"The engine's running." Abigail stated, her hand on the hood.

Riley frowned. "That means he should be nearby…"

"Why couldn't we find him, then? Where could he be?"

There were a few minutes of silence as they thought about the new development. Riley stared at the ground, _willing_ some clue, some sign, _anything_ that would point him towards where Ben was.

He whispered a little prayer begging for something to go on.

Riley snapped his head up, looking around wildly. _What…?_ He stared into the alley, his face scrunched into a stern expression.

"Do you hear that?" He turned to Abigail. "Was that… was that a moan?"

Abigail glanced around. "Sounds like someone's whispering!"

"You don't think…" Riley trailed off. His eyes met with Abigail's. He didn't need to tell her anything. They both knew what that meant – _Ben _is_ here!_

"Ben!"

* * *

"We found the _Charlotte_ in that frozen wasteland. I wish you could've seen her grandpa; she was beautiful." Ben gestured at the illusion-that-was-his-grandpa. He knew that his grandfather in front of him was nothing but a figment of his imagination. But he didn't care.

He was determined to stay awake, even if it meant talking to ghosts.

_Riley and Abigail would _not_ just leave me here, without looking absolutely everywhere. My best bet is that they figured out I'm close to my car._

The wall's shadow in which he was hidden threatened to swallow everything. Ben shook his head forcefully. He wasn't giving up – now that Riley and Abigail were close.

"Ben!"

Ben was pulled into alertness with a start. _Was that… did I just…_

"Ben! Ben where are you?"

_Oh my God, they really are here! Thank you…_

"Riley! Abigail!" The names came out as croaked whispers. Ben groaned in frustration, and looked around to search for something he could use to get their attention.

There was a tin garbage can beside him – just out of his reach. He groped for something he could throw at it – a stone, a penny, anything that would make a sound.

His fingers wrapped around a pen cap, and with a last of his strength trickling away, he raised an arm and hurled it towards the can.

It gave a resounding _twang!_ which echoed in the darkness.

Ben gave a silent thanks to the power that looked upon him. Now he just had to wait.

His eyes drooped, and Ben shook his head again. The pain shot down his shoulder, and that was enough to jolt some semblance of wakefulness into him.

He wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer.

_

* * *

_

Twang!

"Riley!" Abigail called out. She glanced in the sound's direction – and saw a garbage can in the distance. "Riley!" She called again, excitedly, even and Riley came running towards her.

"Found anything?"

"Something twanged around here – it might be Ben trying to get our attention." She explained hurriedly. Riley ran towards the garbage can.

Abigail followed, her eyes repeatedly glancing at the corner close to Ben's car, the one covered in shadows.

She thought she saw something move.

Abigail stared at the spot, and inched closer. She grabbed a small pepper spray from her pocket – something she started bringing after the second biggest adventure of her lifetime. Squinting, she saw an outline of a man lying on the pavement.

"Abigail…" Someone croaked. She stepped closer to the shadow. "Abby…"

_Oh my gosh… _"Ben!" Abigail screamed, running towards the figure. "Riley! Over here! I found Ben!"

_

* * *

_

They're coming, Ben.

Ben squinted at the light shining in his eyes, trying to make out the figure of his grandpa talking to him. "Where are they, grandpa? Where…"

He watched as his grandfather faded into the light, replaced by two fuzzy figures over him.

"Ben… Ben…" Someone whispered, and Ben felt something _warm_ wrap around him.

The figures came into focus, and Riley and Abigail came in focus. "Ben… Are you okay?"

"Abigail? Abigail…"

Relief flooded his voice. If he had strength to cry, he would have cried.

"I'm here Ben, I'm here."

His mind vaguely registered that a blanket was now covering his body. Abigail's arms were wrapped around his shivering self, Riley's hands were not far behind.

Riley pulled on Ben's arms, and Ben felt them slip into sleeves, stopping an inch or two far from his wrists. The blanket was again replaced, followed by Abigail's warm embrace.

_Warmth. It feels so _damn_ good._ It wasn't enough, but Ben was thankful for anything at this point. Everything still ached like hell, especially with Abigail squeezing him like there was no tomorrow, but as far as he was concerned, there _was_ no tomorrow.

He never knew Abigail's hugs felt this _good_.

Ben was content to be in Abigail's arms, not moving for a moment as Abigail cuddled him, her hands rubbing rhythmically on his cheeks and forehead, and he felt some feeling slowly creep into his cheeks. But he knew he couldn't stay like that for so long. He still had something to do, and this was his chance to do it.

"I'm here Ben, I'm here." Abigail hugged him close, sharing at much of her body heat as she can.

"I'll be back – going to get more blankets from the car." Riley said after slipping Ben his coat. He rubbed his gloved fingers and adjusted his hoodie, and jogged to his car. Abigail watched him leave, and turned her attention Back to Ben.

She felt how cold Ben was as she took him in her arms. She noticed the angry bruises forming on his cheekbones and his chest, and _was that caked, frozen blood on his left shoulder?_ Abigail shook her head, sighing. _Who did this to you?_

"Ben." She whispered, hugging him as tightly as she can. "Oh Ben…" She shifted in her position, ready to stand up and support Ben. "Come on, we have to get you to a hospital…" Abigail knew that Ben was probably suffering from hypothermia – he needed medical attention fast…

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Abigail…" Ben croaked, and Abigail pulled him closer.

"Ben… What happened?" Abigail rubbed his pale cheeks, and turned Ben's face towards hers.

"I... I wanted to ask you something."

Abigail smiled, and placed her chin on top of his frozen hair. "It's going to be okay Ben – you don't have to apologize. It's okay. I understand."

"N-no… Y-you have to hear this." Ben insisted. She felt Ben grope around on the ground, leaving her puzzled. _What is he doing?_ "Abigail… listen… I… I love you."

Abigail shook her head. "I know Ben – but you don't have to tell me. Nothing's going to happen to you."

Ben smiled, turned his head – _with much difficulty_, Abigail noted – and raised a hand to Abigail. "No, wait. I want to ask you before… Abigail, please listen."

Abigail blinked at him. She didn't understand what was happening. She glanced at Riley, who arrived with a blanket wrapped around himself, handing Abigail another blanket to wrap around Ben. He stood in the distance, an amused smile on his face.

He certainly knew what Ben was trying to do, and he wasn't making any move to stop Ben.

Abigail wanted to sigh in frustration – she hated being kept in the dark.

Ben managed a small laugh. "I b-bet you're confused. I… I love you Abigail. I know I don't deserve you, th-that I… Abigail, I want to be with you f-forever. W-will you…" Ben gulped, and raised a small rubber band. He took one of Abigail's hands, and Abigail unconsciously slipped her finger in. "will you marry me, A-Abigail?"

Abigail laughed, tears clouding her vision. "Ben… you made me worry for this." She hugged him closer and gave him a small kiss. "I don't believe it. You… you have no idea how angry I am at you, Benjamin Franklin Gates." She wiped at a tear that threatened to fall.

She couldn't believe it. This was insane – was this what Ben was hiding all this time? He was going to propose, and then something went wrong, and…

She just couldn't believe it.

"Ben, I thought we talked about stuttering."Riley grinned, scolding Ben playfully. "You said you were going to pull this off smoothly. And here you are, lying on a pavement." He shook his head. "You made us worry, man."

Abigail turned to Riley. "You knew about this?"

Riley nodded, his grin still ear-to-ear. "Of course I knew about it. So, are you going to answer him?"

"Ben?" Abigail turned to Ben. "I – "

Something went _pumf!_ beside her. The next thing she knew Ben was lying on the ground, his eyes closed, pale blue lips frozen in a smile.

"Ben!"

BENABIGAILBENABIGAILBENABIGAILBENABIGAILBENABIGAILBENABIGAILBENABIGAIL

Okay, I just felt like being evil (as if not updating quickly isn't being evil enough) so I chopped the chappie in half.

Okay, I chopped it in half because I didn't feel like it belonged in just one page. xD

Kudos to **loremipsum** for being awesome and condolences for her dead laptop. .

Anyway, so, here's my update. I hope it's worth the wait! Please review!

-Jaeh ^^


	8. Wake Up!

A/N: Sorry for taking _too_ long guys. It's a long story, something I'm sure you people don't want to hear about because you just want to finish the story. Well, this is the last chapter, and then the epilogue. Then I'm moving on to another NT project. *huge smile* So watch out for some new stories bound to pop-up, 'kay?

And sorry if this chap sorta sucks – not too fond of it. xD Thanks to **Loremipsum **for helping out lots!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my iPod, my HP mini laptop and my hi-cut black converses. And a bunch of other stuff, but NT is definitely not in the list. T.T

BENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBY

Abby watched Ben's chest rise and fall slowly. She leaned forward on the bed rail, and clasped Ben's unmoving hand. She sighed, and sat back. Abigail twirled the small rubber ring on her finger, smiling as she thought of its significance.

She found herself wondering what the original ring looked like. Abigail realized that she couldn't imagine it, and found herself quite startled by the realization. She had no idea what Ben bought – and here she thought she had him all figured out. She sat back, and contemplated this for a moment, staring at Ben's sleeping form, like she was waiting for him to give her an answer.

"You know, Abigail, the longer you stare at Ben the more he will melt. And I have absolutely no desire to see my best friend melt into a puddle." Riley joked, handing over a cup of coffee. Abigail grabbed it from him, and inhaled the aroma. Her senses perked up immediately, and she smiled at Riley thankfully.

Abigail took a sip, and sighed. "It's just…"

"The real ring was really beautiful. It would have looked great on your finger." Riley remarked. "Too bad it got stolen, though. I hope the bastards get caught."

"Riley, language." She automatically corrected, and Riley waved it away. Abigail shrugged, clearly not in the mood to protest. She felt exactly the same way. "But you're right. I do hope they catch them."

There was a moment of silence. Abigail found herself watching Riley pat Ben's hand, murmur something that sounded soothing, and shove the hand around a bit. Riley smiled, and leaned his head on the bed rail, and closed his eyes contentedly.

Abigail sighed. _I wish I had his confidence._ She hadn't slept since they brought Ben in yesterday. She was just _so_ worried about Ben, she couldn't even think straight. Riley had asked her earlier how she coped with Ben when he's on his treasure hunts – there was bound to be more risks than this small case of hypothermia. Abby had shrugged, and told Riley that treasure hunts were in her turf, while proposals weren't.

Apparently Riley didn't think that was a sound argument, and he urged her one last time to go to sleep. Abigail shook her head, insisting that she wanted to be alert when he wakes up.

Abigail's thoughts turned back to what happened hours ago. When they brought Ben in, he was still unconscious. The doctors and the nurses fussed over Ben, and someone had mentioned something about "stage 3" and "coma" when she was within earshot.

Abigail froze on the spot. She didn't like how that sounded. Riley was clinging to her like she was a huge teddy bear – or was she the one clinging to Riley then? Abigail felt like everything was a blur, and she was left sitting on one of the hospital benches, Riley's arm around her, and he whispering reassuring sentences. "Abigail, it's going to be okay. It's just hypothermia – not a severe one at that. Relax, okay? Ben's going to be okay." Abby buried her head into Riley's shoulder, and Riley patted her on the back.

The doctor approached them with a wide grin. He sat beside Abigail, and told her the good news. "Mr. Gates is going to be okay. He was brought just in time. A few bruises, a broken arm – that's it." The doctor glanced at the recovery room Ben was temporarily placed in. "There might be moments of confusion, but that's normal. We're just going to keep him here to properly 'thaw him out' and to make sure he _is_ all right." He glanced at his watch. "It would probably be best if you went home and rested for a while. Mr. Gates' is not going anywhere – or waking up, for that matter; we gave him something for sleep."

Abigail had refused, but she found herself being guided to Riley's car and buckled in the front seat. Riley took her home, and stayed for the night. He told Abigail to get some much needed sleep, and left her in her room. She slept on her side of the bed, occasionally reaching for Ben's side even if she knew he wasn't there.

She didn't realize how much she was used to Ben being around. Abigail rolled over and faced the empty space. She sighed. Her hands felt for a book she always kept on the nightstand for nights like this, and started on a chapter. Abigail had almost finished the thin book when Riley knocked on her door and asked her if she was ready to return to the hospital. They arrived with Ben still knocked out with some painkillers, and were left to watch his sleeping figure in a dimmed hospital room.

Abigail shook those thoughts clear from her head, and looked up at the clock. It was five minutes past midnight. She grabbed a nearby envelope and started sifting through her work files.

It was going to be another long night.

* * *

Riley raised his head from the hospital bed's railing. He stretched a bit, and blinked at the shadowy figure in a couch across from him.

"Abigail?" He murmured, and the figure nodded. Riley glanced at the time – it was around 5:30 am. Riley massaged his neck. "Did you get some sleep? Or did you stay up all night?"

Abigail answered with a sigh, and placed down the file that she was trying to read.

"It was probably my fault. Shouldn't have bought that cup of coffee you asked for." Riley grinned, and reached for Abby's hand across Ben's bed. "He's going to be fine, Abs. There's nothing to worry about. He's just under medication, that's all."

He turned on the dimmed lights, and Abigail clicked off the lamp. Riley glanced at Ben, who was still sleeping soundly. "Look at him… he looks so, peaceful." Abigail commented, running fingers through Ben's hair. "It's like nothing really happened the past few hours."

"The last time I checked, Abigail, the terms "He looks so peaceful" is reserved for people who are already dead." Riley commented wryly, and stood up. "I think I'm going to get myself a cup of coffee. I'll be back later. You have anything you want me to get?"

Abby nodded. "Coffee, Breakfast."

Riley gave a small nod, and left the room.

Abigail glanced at Ben, and smiled. "Wake up soon, Ben. We still have a wedding to plan, remember?" She laid her head on the bed, and fell asleep.

* * *

Abigail woke up to a hand sifting through her hair. She murmured something along the lines of "stop", and then stiffened. She looked up.

Ben was smiling at her.

"Ben!" Abigail jumped – her first instinct was to give him a hug.

Ben raised a hand towards Abigail's face. "Abigail…"

Riley stepped in the room, and Abigail was the first one to state the obvious. "Riley! Ben's awake!"

"I noticed, Abs." Riley grinned, and turned to Ben. "Good morning buddy! Welcome back to the land of the living." He reached for the call button. "Ben, you ought to know that… I'm sorry. We tried to save all of your toes, but…"

Ben's eyes widened and he pulled his blanket off. And, what do you know, all his toes were intact. He glared at Riley.

"Gotcha there, eh, Ben?" Riley laughed. "I'm just gonna go get my stuff outside. I'll be right back." He stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly.

"Abigail…" Ben rasped, and reached a hand towards her.

Abigail reached for a glass of water, and handed it to Ben. He took it gratefully, and started gulping it down. "Abigail…" He started again, and took Abigail's hand. "Abigail, will you marry me? I didn't get to hear your answer."

Abigail chuckled in disbelief. "That's still on your mind, Ben?" She smiled, and gave Ben a good, long kiss, and wrapped her arms around him. "But yes, of course I will marry you!"

"Good." Ben breathed, and winced. "You're crushing me, Abby."

Abigail let go, and grinned. "I'm sorry." She gave him a hug again, a gentler one this time. "Gosh, Ben, you made me worry. We didn't know where you were… especially me – Riley was panicking and I didn't know what was happening… Don't you dare do that to me again!"

"I just wanted for everything to be perfect… unforgettable."

Abigail laughed softly, her eyes shining with happiness. "You don't have to do that, Ben. Proposing to me, even just here at home would have been great."

"Sure, you say that now, but…"

Abigail placed a finger on Ben's lips. "I said yes, okay? No more buts." She smirked. "Besides, that was definitely unforgettable." Her hand squeezed Ben's arm. "That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me Ben. Even better than Paul Brown's Washington campaign button." That made Ben smile again, and Abigail gave him another kiss. "You braved the weather for me. More importantly, you didn't die."

Ben squeezed Abigail's hand. Abigail motioned for him to move, and she climbed in. Ben placed an arm over her shoulder despite his pain, and they lied in that position for awhile, snuggling.

Riley arrived with the nurse in tow. "Ohhhhh guys, there are kids present. I don't have to see that."

"By kids you mean you?" Abigail smirked, climbing down from the bed and letting the nurse check Ben over and do her work.

Riley's hand went to his chest, and feigned pain. "Ow, Abby, that hurt. I was talking about the family next door. What if the kids accidentally found you in that position? That would've scarred them for life."

"You make it sound like cuddling is a bad thing."Abigail answered with an amused look.

"Eh, maybe not always." He answered, smiling. The nurse nodded at them, and reported that Ben seemed to be better. She said the doctor would come by in a few minutes, and would further assess Ben. The nurse left after that, and Riley followed her with his eyes.

"Did you see that? She's hot." Riley commented with a huge grin. "She likes me."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you already have a girlfriend, Riley?" Ben spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

Riley shrugged. "It's not wrong to acknowledge beauty, dude." Riley grinned, and sat on a chair. "You know, this would be a great story to tell your kids someday."

Ben rolled his eyes, and turned to Abby with that look in his eyes, and with a smile said: "Have you heard, Riley? We're getting married...!"

BENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBYBENABBY

Review? *grin*

-Jaeh ^^


	9. Epilogue

Here be the **Epilogue!**

Disclaimer: What do I always type here again? Oh, right: Don't own NT. Except for Chuck/Charles Carroll Gates. I have a story about his name - *suddenly gets yanked off the stage*

RILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEYRILEY

"They eventually caught the muggers, wasting their money on getting dru- er, at a nice restaurant eating wholesome and delicious diet, like veggies. And we got the ring back."

"I'm ten, Uncle Riley, I know what you want to say." The kid crossed his arms, and frowned at Riley.

Riley shook his head, shrugging. "Well, I'd rather not your parents catch us talking about beer and bars. I'd get into a lot of trouble, kiddo. Anyway, they got married, had a little kid after that – smart, but annoying," Riley ruffled the kid's hair, and the kid frowned, "and we all lived happily ever after." Riley finished, grinning.

"So… er, Uncle Riley, that's how babies are made?"

Riley bit his lip, and thought for a moment. "Yeah, yeah… yes. That's where babies come from."

"But you just told me how mom and dad got engaged!"

"My point _exactly_." Riley patted his nephew on the head, and started for the door. "Discussion over, finish your homework, Chuck."

Chuck grinned, and looked at his notebook. He started scribbling some notes, and then stopped. "Uncle Riley?"

Riley turned to Chuck before he closed the door. "Yes?"

"Is that what really happened?"

"I might have added a thing or two but yeah, pretty much." Riley leaned on the door, grinning at his nephew.

"But it seems – "

"Too weird? I know I have a good imagination Chuck – but it's _too_ weird, I can't make it up." His eyes twinkled, and Riley returned to sit down on Chuck's bed. "Just trust me."

Chuck nodded. "But, Uncle, that doesn't help me in my homework. The assignment is to ask a grown-up how babies are _made_…"

Riley sighed. He hummed and hawed, staring at his nephew. "You see – it's like this… I… First…" He sighed again, and gestured towards the door. "Go ask your father. It's time for _the talk_."

Chuck grinned, grabbed his pen and notebook and ran off.

Riley smiled, and shook his head. He thought back to eleven years ago, and laughed quietly. "Ben, Ben Ben you had no idea what you were getting yourself into…"

-End ^^

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A/N **ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS**: People, I thank you profusely for reading this story, and the rest of my other stuff. **I thank my reviewers, people who don't review but read my stuff anyway, and the rest of the NT fanfic community, just because. Haha.** Of course, **I would never forget to thank my awesome beta, LOREMIPSUM, who deserves a huge kudos, a hug, a Riley plushie and a cookie for putting up with me and my late-updating-action.**

Watch out for my other stuff, 'kay? They're gonna come out soon – I have the outlines written down and everything, just have to put them down in story form!

Please don't forget to **review** – come one, it's the last chap! Review, pleeeeaaaase?????

-Jaeh ^^


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